Chapter 196: Signing the Contract

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Signing the Contract

After the meeting adjourned, the managers left one after another. Adelaide stayed in the conference room alone and opened the preliminary evaluation report just sent by the marketing department.

The audience fit score for My Big Fat Greek Wedding was very high, especially in dimensions like "family warmth" and "cultural resonance," which perfectly met current market demands.

Adelaide couldn’t help but admire Irene in her heart. It seemed she was about to witness another miracle belonging to Irene.

When she received Adelaide’s text message, Irene was organizing her thoughts on the post-production script adjustments for Pirates of the Caribbean.

As her fingertip brushed over the words "full support" on the screen, she immediately stood up and dialed Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos’s numbers.

"Good news. Fox has passed the preliminary evaluation for My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Come to my company for a meeting at 3:00 PM to discuss the signing and release planning."

In the Echo Pictures conference room that afternoon, sunlight spilled through the blinds onto the long wooden table. Nia’s face was full of anticipation and trepidation.

Tom leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his hand. Seeing Irene walk in, he immediately sat up straight. "How is it? Are the terms Fox offered reliable?"

"Quite reliable." Irene sat down with a smile and handed Adelaide’s text message on her phone to the two of them. "Not only did they agree to distribute it, but they also offered a 12% distribution fee. In the current market, that’s already a very sincere price."

"12%?" Tom raised an eyebrow, his voice full of surprise. "I’ve privately asked friends at Warner Bros. and Paramount before. The lowest distribution fee they gave for similar independent films was at least 15%, and it came with a bunch of additional conditions for box office splits. Fox’s price is indeed low. Adelaide is truly supportive of you."

Nia’s eyes lit up even more, her fingers tightening around the script. "Unbelievable! I originally thought it would be good enough just to find someone willing to distribute it. I didn’t expect to get such favorable terms. Irene, how on earth did you negotiate this?"

"First, it’s thanks to my long-standing friendship with Adelaide. She has always respected my judgment on projects. Second, the theme of this film happens to fit current market needs," Irene explained.

"After 9/11, everyone needs warm and healing content. The family warmth and cultural inclusion in My Big Fat Greek Wedding happen to hit the audience’s pain points. Fox also needs a positive project like this to turn its image around. It’s a mutual attraction."

She paused and continued: "Next, we need to finalize the release date. I suggest putting it in the spring of next year, avoiding the year-end awards season and the blockbuster competition of the summer.

Family and female audiences in the spring slot are our core targets. Additionally, Nia, as the screenwriter and lead actress, you need to prepare some promotional materials in advance—for example, sharing the family stories behind your creation. It’s easier to trigger resonance."

Tom nodded. "I completely agree. There’s less competitive pressure in the spring slot, and after several months of public opinion settling, audiences will be more receptive to heartwarming films.

On my end, I can contact some resources in the Greek-descent community to do small-scale advance screenings and build word-of-mouth."

Nia nodded vigorously. "No problem! I can have the promotional materials ready in a few days. Many plots in the script are from my personal experiences. Talking about them will definitely be moving."

The three of them discussed promotional strategy and release details for nearly two hours, only ending the meeting as the sun began to set. As she was leaving, Nia held Irene’s hand and spoke sincerely.

"Irene, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, this film definitely wouldn’t have received such good treatment. Maybe it would have just found a random slot and been released early. I didn’t expect to encounter such a great opportunity."

"We are partners. If you do well, I do well. However, I really didn’t expect such a thing to happen on American soil. One can only say it was a twist of fate," Irene responded with a smile.

A week later, Irene, Tom, and Nia walked into the Fox Pictures office building together. By this time, Fox had gradually shed its previous cloud of public controversy.

Public service posters for the "United as One" charity event hung in the lobby, and the employees’ faces showed a bit more composure.

The signing ceremony was arranged in a small conference room. Adelaide arrived in person, followed by the heads of the marketing and legal departments. "Irene, Tom, Nia, welcome," Adelaide said, standing up to shake hands with a smile.

"The final evaluation report for My Big Fat Greek Wedding is excellent. The marketing department predicts the box office will exceed expectations. We have already reserved premium distribution resources for it."

The head of the legal department handed over the prepared contract and explained the key terms to everyone point by point. A 12% distribution fee, a clear spring release date, a commitment of no fewer than 2,000 screens nationwide, joint promotion with public service ticket package activities... every item was written clearly and explicitly.

"No problem." Irene quickly scanned the contract and was the first to sign her name. "I look forward to working with Fox to bring this warm film to more audiences."

Tom and Nia signed one after another. The moment the pen tip touched the paper, Nia’s eyes reddened slightly. From conceiving the script to finding a distributor, she had walked this path for five whole years. Now, her dream was finally coming true.

After the signing, Adelaide raised a champagne glass from the table. "A toast to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and a toast to the renewed collaboration between Fox and Echo Pictures!"

"Cheers!"

It was already 11:00 PM when she returned home. Irene kicked off her high heels, and exhaustion instantly spread up her spine.

From the meeting at Fox to finalizing the signing details for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and then discussing the promotion plan with Tom and Nia, a whole day of high-intensity work had left her with barely enough strength to lift a hand.

But as she slumped on the sofa, thinking that Britney’s new song "Roar" would be released in two days, and thinking about the filming plan for the Pirates of the Caribbean public service short film, an indescribable sense of accomplishment suddenly surged up, washing away most of her fatigue.

She clicked on the demo clip Britney had sent. The stirring melody played in the empty living room, and her heart was full of anticipation.

After listening to it several times, Irene suddenly sighed. Promotional channels in 2001 were truly too limited.

Britney’s new song could only rely on radio charts, television MVs, and offline promotion. Her movies could only depend on theater screenings and print media reports. For works that needed to quickly trigger resonance and spread influence, the efficiency was simply too low.

"If only there were an online platform where everyone could participate..." she murmured to herself.

The name "Facebook" suddenly flashed through her mind. She stood up abruptly. How could she have forgotten this? She clearly remembered that Mark Zuckerberg wouldn’t officially launch Facebook until 2004, and the prototype would only be created in 2003 after he officially entered Harvard.